Health Secretary Wes Streeting has declared he will be 'horrified' if West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford remains in his position by the end of the day, following a scathing report which found the force misled Parliament and the public over a controversial football fan ban.
A Catalogue of Failings and Fabricated Evidence
The extraordinary political fallout stems from a damning inquest into how West Midlands Police came to ban supporters of Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a Europa Conference League match against Aston Villa in Birmingham last November. The report by Sir Andy Cooke, Chief Inspector of Constabulary, identified widespread and serious failings.
The force was found to have fabricated and exaggerated evidence to justify the ban, overstating threats and citing inaccurate information about links between fans and the Israeli Defence Forces. In a stunning revelation, it emerged that police even used an 'AI hallucination' as purported evidence, referencing a match incident that never occurred.
Home Secretary Loses Confidence But Power Lies Elsewhere
In a blistering statement to the House of Commons, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had lost confidence in Chief Constable Guildford following the 'devastating' report. She condemned a 'failure of leadership' that had harmed the reputation of policing.
However, Ms Mahmood admitted she has no direct legal power to sack him. That authority rests solely with the local Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands, Labour's Simon Foster. Despite mounting pressure, Mr Foster has stated he will defer any decision until giving the 11-page report 'full and proper consideration' after a public meeting scheduled for the end of this month.
Cross-Party Calls for Resignation Mount
The political backlash has been swift and cross-party. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp condemned the 'shameful episode', accusing the force of having 'capitulated to the Islamist mob'. He stated unequivocally: 'The chief constable must be fired.'
Several local Labour MPs, including Gurinder Singh Josan (Smethwick) and Antonia Bance (Tipton), joined calls for Mr Guildford to resign immediately. Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton also demanded he stand down.
Speaking to Times Radio, Wes Streeting expressed his shock that Mr Guildford had not already resigned. 'I genuinely thought that, having misled Parliament, that having misled the public, and having had one of his own local MPs, the Home Secretary, saying she had lost confidence in him, I honestly thought that anyone with integrity would at that point say 'I have to resign',' the Health Secretary said.
He added starkly: 'The fact he hasn't, I really think, is a stain on his character that, if he doesn't act quickly, he won't be able to remove.'
In a letter to the Commons Home Affairs Committee dated Monday, Mr Guildford apologised for misleading MPs during his evidence last month. The force itself issued a statement admitting to 'unintentional errors' and their impact, but stopped short of addressing its leader's future.
As the day progresses, all eyes are on the Chief Constable's next move and whether the PCC will intervene, in a scandal that has raised profound questions about police integrity, accountability, and the dangerous use of unreliable technology in operational decisions.
